Ex-detective calls for cash

After a Superior Court jury found him not guilty on charges of larceny and forgery, former New Haven Police Department Detective Clarence Willoughby is demanding the city foot the legal bill.

A 24-year veteran of the force, Willoughby was accused of stealing thousands of dollars from the NHPD by making fraudulent payment requests to confidential informants during his investigation of two homicides and one shooting spree from 2004-’06.

And now that he has been acquitted, Willoughby, 48, is asking for the city to cover the costs of his defense.

Connecticut law states that if a police officer is charged for committing a crime in the course of duty and is found not guilty, the officer is entitled to be compensated for any financial losses, including legal fees.

State prosecutors argued that Willoughby did not pay any confidential informants and instead just kept the cash for himself. During the trial, the supposed informants testified that they were never paid by Willoughby.

Willoughby denied this, saying the NHPD’s records were so mismanaged, and that there were so many missing documents, that no case could be made against him.

The jury deliberated for 5.5 hours over two days before acquitting Willoughby.